mask lost communication

[Emparo821]

about a year ago i got OW certified through PADI. as i have done research, looked through forums, and reflected on personal experience i have found some gaping holes in their curriculum. i looked back through my book just make sure before posting on here but it seems that PADI leaves OW divers helpless if they loose their mask. I was wondering if there is a standard way to gauge depth without a mask and also if there is a standard set of communications for a buddy stay in contact with a diver who has lost his mask. naturally if this happens to a diver it will be unsettling. But assuming that we keep our head about us and allow our buddy to notice us i was wondering how it is best to communicate. i saw a video that showed a buddy moving the blind diver's hand into up/down/level (to control depth and while surfacing) and holding his arm to guide the blind diver if they needed to move but i had never seen this before that video. i was wondering if this was standard or why it is not taught in OW classes.

 

[DevonDiver]

Regards no-mask communication, have a look at some of the UTD/5thD-X videos on youtube. There's a system of touch communications for zero vis in caves/wrecks that works fine for general lost-mask scenarios.

 

[Emparo821]

thanks for the quick response

 

[boulderjohn]

about a year ago i got OW certified through PADI. as i have done research, looked through forums, and reflected on personal experience i have found some gaping holes in their curriculum. i looked back through my book just make sure before posting on here but it seems that PADI leaves OW divers helpless if they loose their mask. I was wondering if there is a standard way to gauge depth without a mask and also if there is a standard set of communications for a buddy stay in contact with a diver who has lost his mask.

You should have covered this in the pool during your fourth confined water training dive. In that exercise, you are supposed to remove your mask to simulate having lost it. Your buddy is then supposed to lead you for a distance of at least 50 feet to simulate being taken to your mask. At that time you are supposed to replace the mask. If your instructor did not do that with you, then it was a standards violation.

 

[Emparo821]

they did do this but my concern was more that there is no standard communication other than pulling and tugging. i feel that to actually calm down it would help if i knew what my buddy wanted me to do.

*edit: the videos that devondiver pointed out are a great place to start and i wish that it would have been included in training rather than me thinking of it a year after getting certified

 

[TSandM]

There is a whole set of signals for use in zero viz, which are learned by overhead divers. Push forward twice for go; squeeze twice for stop. Thumb up for ascend, thumb down for descend. Take partner's hand and have him feel your face to ensure he knows you have no mask.

I don't think they are taught in OW because it's not expected that you will do anything but a direct ascent in the event of a lost mask, and just as with so many other OW issues, you would probably omit any stops. So signalling to come down or level off or stop is not terribly useful, if you make those assumptions.

 

[lowviz]

...//....was wondering how it is best to communicate. ...//...

Cave Diving Communications. Joe Prosser and H. V. Grey. (has a lot of goofy stuff in there for humor), this is really the base you should have. Original printing about $200. Reprint, about $8. Agreed. take your buddy's hand and move it to the region of difficulty.

 

[RonFrank]

New divers have plenty to keep them busy without learning sign language.

Whatever you are planning on learning make sure your buddy knows it as well.....

If you are a year into diving with less than 24 dives maybe more diving is a goal.

 

[CamG]

Greetings Emparo821 and John and TSandM have nailed it on the head.
Padi OW training is designed to make sure you are comfortable without your mask being lead by your buddy to the surface.
In our training we were encouraged to carry a spare mask to make this issue mute.

In my OW buddy awareness was drilled into us till we stayed close and when vis was bad we were in touch contact range.
For some of our dives we literally held d-rings to keep from being separated.

Since that class i have learned to communicate by light, touch, hand signal, or a slate.
All will work some better than others depending on the conditions.
We did learn light, touch, slate, and hand signals in AOW.
My instructor always went over and above the call of duty!

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

 

[HJeffreyM]

Hmmm...IMHO we're totally overthinking the OPs question. Most people can open their eyes for quite some time in either fresh or salt water without ill effect. No, you will not be able to make out fine detail as if you were wearing a mask so reading your guages is out. But signaling to your buddy there's a problem and requesting an immediate controlled ascent should be easily managed with normal hand signals. You and your buddy might even take a minute first to see if he can find your lost mask. The OP said nothing about a bad or zero-vis situation. He is a new diver seeking advice on what to do in good conditions.

I think the easy answer is OPEN YOUR EYES...make sure your reg is in your mouth and working properly...get your buddy's attention and go from there. You should be able to see all of the hand signals without a mask.